Yamaha’s Tenere 700 has been one of the year’s most hotly-anticipated new models but while the reveal of the new T7 concept shows what it will be like it means we’ll have to wait until 2018 for the showroom version.
Based on the MT-07’s parallel twin engine, the T7 makes no bones about the fact it’s a lightly spiced preview of the Tenere 700. Yamaha’s own text accompanying the model’s unveiling is packed with references to the XT660Z Tenere, the bike that’s been dropped from the firm’s range in anticipation of the new Tenere 700’s introduction.
Yamaha has confirmed that the bike’s development has been largely done in Europe, with the combined efforts of the Official Rally Team in France, the firm’s R&D department in Italy and GK Design in the Netherlands. The bike’s key features are the ‘CP2’ 700cc parallel twin engine and four LED projector lights – which have also appeared in a recent patent from the firm.
The steel frame is unique to the new bike, and likely to be identical to the Tenere 700 production model’s design. Like its rival, Honda’s Africa Twin, the chassis is designed with more serious off-road intentions than most adventure bikes.
The KYB forks are also expected to carry directly across. Less likely to make the transition are components like the aluminium fuel tank – expect steel or plastic on the mass-made bike – and the carbon fairing. The Akrapovic exhaust will surely become an optional extra.
No details have been released in terms of weight or other dimensions, or concerning the engine’s performance – although it’s likely to be largely unaltered from its MT-07 form. However, the production version of the bike has been confirmed, with Yamaha claiming it “will be on the street – and on the dirt – from 2018.”
